Brokelyn

Save the earth, make some cash

If you recently bought a fancy phone with your extravagant bonus/unemployment check and are looking to get rid of your museum-ready phone, there’s a way to make some money while doing the earth a favor. Exchange My Phone, a new Brooklyn-based recycling service, promises up to $50 for mobile phones less than 2 years old and $200 for recently released smart phones. You type in the model and condition of the phone, get a quote and they send you a box for shipment. Even if it’s a clunker, the company will recycle it for free. As a bonus, they donate a book to a local literacy initiative for each phone. Read the rest of this entry »

Each week or so, our Dear Penny column investigates the answers to reader questions about saving money in Brooklyn. Send your stumpers to DearPenny@brokelyn.com.

On purely economical terms, yes, make the switch. The idea behind no-contract providers is that they offer unlimited talk, text and web for one flat monthly fee. Metro PCS ($40), Cricket ($40) and Sprint’s offshoot, Boost Mobile ($50), are three of the big names, and they constitute a real savings over both alternatives: pay-as-you-go phones, which have added charges for basic services; or annual contracts, with their hefty monthly fees. But the money’s not the whole deal in the contract/no-contract debate. A few equally important issues, like service area and phone quality, also should play a role in your decision. Read the rest of this entry »